2020 Republican Primaries for President of the United States
The 2020 Republican Party presidential primaries and caucuses was a series of electoral contests that took place within all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories. Sanctioned by the Republican Party, these elections were designed to select the 2,472 delegates to send to the Republican National Convention, who will select the Republican Party's nominee for President of the United States in the 2020 election. The delegates also approve the party platform and vice-presidential nominee. President Donald J. Trump announced in January of 2019, that he will not be running for reelection as President of the United States, citing age and health concerns. Prior to the campaign, Vice President Mike Pence became the early frontrunner, leading in virtually every poll. However as the primaries began, lost ground to US Ambassador to the United Nations, and Former Governor of South Carolina, Nikki Haley. After President Trump endorsed Pence, the Vice President began catching up to Haley, however Haley had already secured enough delegates for Pence to win. Florida Senator Marco Rubio was chosen as the Vice Presidential Nominee. Haley ultimately won the nomination after winning most of the primaries against Vice President Pence. Candidates Campaign 2019 In March of 2019, President Donald Trump announced that he would not be seeking reelection, citing health concerns. It is reported that Trump informed members of his administration about his decision as early as November of 2018, which gave Vice President Pence and Ambassador Haley an advantage, as they were able to prepare a campaign before any other Republicans. The lack of time to prepare campaigns and the presence of Vice President Pence prevented many prominent Republicans from running. Congressman Duncan Hunter was the first to announce his candidacy, in late March of 2019. Vice President Mike Pence kicked off his campaign at a rally, on April 3rd, 2019, followed soon after by Texas Governor Greg Abbott. On April 15, US Ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley announced her candidacy, followed by Steve Bannon in June. Representative Hunter was the first to withdraw, doing so in December of 2019, after only getting 2% in the Iowa Straw Poll. Iowa Vice President Pence was widely expected to win in Iowa, both because of his appeal evangelical voters and Midwestern origins. Polling in Iowa placed Pence with 43.3%, Haley at 37.4%, Abbott at 15.1% , and Bannon at 4.2%. The final result showed that the vote was much closer, with Pence getting 42.5%, Haley getting 41.9%, Abbott getting 10.4%, and Bannon getting 5.2%. New Hampshire ' Polling in New Hampshire suggested that Haley would receive 45.4%, Pence would receive 44.1%, Abbott would receive 7.5, and Bannon would receive 2.3%. On Election Night, however, Haley won with a wider margin than expected, receiving 50.1%, with Pence in second at 42.9%. Both Haley and Pence held a significant lead over Abbot and Bannon, receiving 6.3% and .7%, respectively. '''Michigan ' With different winners in Iowa and New Hampshire, Michigan proved to be a very important battle. Many saw Michigan as Pence's chance to make up for disappointments in Iowa and New Hampshire, or Haley's chance to cement her status as front runner. Abbott did not campaign in Michigan, and instead spent his time and resources in Florida. Polls put Pence ahead of Haley by 5% in Michigan. In the end, Pence won Michigan with 47.6%, followed by Haley with 43.3, Bannon with 6.3, and Abbott, who did not campaign in Michigan, at 2.8%. Despite her loss in Michigan, Haley's national poll numbers rose 19%, after her win in New Hampshire. 'Nevada ' With the endorsement of Mitt Romney and Senator Dean Heller, Haley was favored to win the Nevada Primary. Haley won the Nevada primary with nearly 49% of the vote. Pence came in second with 43%, followed by Bannon and Abbot, each with around 3%. Following the Nevada Primary, Steve Bannon suspended his campaign for President of the United States. Bannon indicated later that week a desire to run for President in 2024, whether or not the Republican Nominee won in 2020. 'South Carolina ' Neither Pence, Haley, Abbott, nor Bannon campaigned in South Carolina, with Nikki Haley, heavily expected to win. Haley, a former Governor of South Carolina still popular in the state, won with nearly 67%, followed by Pence, with 28%, and Abbott and Bannon, with 4% and 1%, respectively. Despite suspending his campaign, Bannon's name still appeared on the ballot 'Florida ' Abbott, hoping to use Florida as a launchpad for Super Tuesday, had been campaigned without any opposition. After the Nevada Primary, Haley, Pence, and Bannon began campaigning, with poll numbers showing Haley and Abbott each with around 35%, and Mike Pence with around 30%. With the endorsement of Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who Haley campaigned for during his 2016 run for President, Nikki Haley won the Florida primary with 37.5% of the vote, followed by Abbott with 32.4%, and Pence with 29.9%. 'Super Tuesday ' Haley was the big winner of Super Tuesday, taking the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, and New York. Pence came in second, winning the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma,Tennessee, Utah, and West Virginia. Governor Abbott won the states of Alaska, Montana, and North Dakota. 'Later February Contests ' Despite promising to stay neutral until the Republican Nominee was chosen, President Trump tweeted on February 18, that he would be supporting Mike Pence for the Republican Nomination. Trump's endorsement gave Pence a much needed boost, allowing him to do significantly better in later February contest, than on Super Tuesday. Pence won the states of Louisiana, Kansas, Virginia, Maryland, and Wisconsin. Haley won in Washington, Maryland, and Washington D.C. Abbott, who had focused on the states of Kansas and Louisiana, did not win any of the contests in late February. Abbott endorsed Mike Pence, and several sources reported that Pence was considering offering the Vice Presidential Nomination to Abbott. Abbott said that he would accept the Vice Presidential Nomination, if offered to him. '''March Contest After Pence’s wins in February, and Trump’s endorsement, Pence and Haley were virtually neck to neck, in both delegate count and poll numbers. Both candidates campaigned hard in early March, and Pence won the key races of Texas, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, as well as more modest victories in Idaho, South Dakota, and Nebraska. Earlier in the month, Haley won the key state of New Mexico, as well as the states of Rhode Island, Oregon, Vermont, and Hawaii. The late March race in North Carolina was critical in deciding the nominee, as if either candidate won the state's 71 delegates, they would have enough delegates to become the nominee. Polls showed Pence and Haley virtually tied in North Carolina. Malfunctions with the newly computerized voting machines, caused several poll stations to stay open well after midnight. The next day, when the votes were tallied, Haley recieved 49.97% and Pence received 50.03%. Although Pence proclaimed victory the day after the election, the Haley Campaign requested a recount, which, according to the rules of the North Carolina Republican Party, is allowed as long as the margin is .5 or less. North Carolina Revote The North Carolina Republican Party granted Haley's request for a statewide recount. During the recount, it became evident that entire polling stations had not been counted, because of malfunctions with the voting machines. The NCGOP began a frantic, unsuccessful effect to recover the lost votes. Four days after the election, on March 30, it was announced that the state would revote for the Republican nominee, a second time, on May 1st, 2020. For the next month, both Haley and Pence campaigned hard in North Carolina, however, with his campaign in debt, Pence had to reduce operations. While serving as Ambassador, Haley built relationships with many donors in New York, which prevents her campaign from having financial problems. Haley and Pence held one final debate, in Charlotte, North Carolina, a week before the election. The night before the election, in an effort to unite the party, Haley and Pence released a join statement announcing that they would appear together after the election results were announced, and the loser would endorse the winner. On election night, Nikki Haley with won 50.6% of the voting, beating Pence. Ronna Romney McDaniel, the Chairwoman of the RNC, declared Nikki Haley the presumptive nominee. The night of the election, Pence conceded the North Carolina Primary and endorsed Haley, saying "I intend to fight with every bone in my body, to make Nikki Haley the next President of the United States." The next day, President Donald Trump invited Haley to the White House and endorsed her. Vice Presidential Nomination Commentators speculated that Governor John Kasich, former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, Senator Marco Rubio, Governor Greg Abbott, Governor Scott Walker, Senator Mitt Romney, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Energy Secretary Rick Perry, or even Vice President Pence, were on Haley's shortlist for Vice President. Haley announced on May 25th, that Florida Senator Marco Rubio, who campaigned for her in Florida, would be the Vice Presidential nominee, saying "I can't tell you how excited I am to be going to work for you in Washington, and there's no one who I would rather have helping me than Marco Rubio!" 2020 Republican National Convention The 2020 Republican National Convention, in which delegates of the United States Republican Party chose the party's nominees for President of the United States and Vice President of the United States in the 2020 U.S. presidential election, was held July 18–21, 2020, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event marked the first time Las Vegas has hosted the Republican National Convention. In addition to determining the party's national ticket, the convention ratified the party platform. There were 2,472 delegates to the Republican National Convention, with a plurality required to win the presidential nomination. Most of those delegates were bound for the first ballot of the convention based on the results of the 2020 Republican presidential primaries. The Haley-Rubio ticket is historically significant, as it is the first entirely non-white major party ticket, the first major party ticket with an Indian-American, the first major party ticket with a Cuba-American, and the first female Republican Presidential Nominee.